


Is He…Crying?

by DragonsIre



Category: Winx Club
Genre: 5+1 Things, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Feelings, Minor Character Death, Past Torture, Riven has a bit of a breakdown, Riven with emotions, Sort of AU, supportive Specialists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:13:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26933407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonsIre/pseuds/DragonsIre
Summary: Five times the specialists were pretty sure that Riven was crying or at least about to, and one time he actually vocalizes his feelings.
Relationships: Musa/Riven (Winx Club), mentioned Bloom/Sky - Relationship, mentioned Brandon/Stella, mentioned Darcy/Riven, mentioned Timmy/Tecna
Comments: 5
Kudos: 149





	Is He…Crying?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey ya’ll! Yet another hard drive-cleaning-prompted rewrite and post. I remember watching the Winx Club (the original back in like 2004 when it first came out and Domino was Sparx and Aisha was Layla – yes I heard about the changes and I was actually a bit distraught that something so vivid from my childhood had changed) and anyway, based on the creation date from my file I wrote the first draft of this over a decade ago while Season 3 was still airing. I have no clue what else has been changed about the story line, characters, anything like that, so if you haven’t seen the original version, I’m not sure this falls in line? I also took some liberties and mixed moments from the actual show as I remember it with my own created moments while rewriting this 5 times – 1 time oneshot. So sorry if this is a weird kinda alternate universe at moments or OOC or who knows what. Definitely don’t own Winx or it would’ve gone down differently. Love kudos, comments and critiques & flames make me laugh.

The first time one of the specialists thought they saw Riven crying was the morning of the Day of the Rose. Brandon was coming in from his morning run with Sky, the prince having stopped to greet his dog in the quad and play fetch with her for a few minutes, and the squire was in desperate need of coffee. He didn’t expect Riven or Timmy to be up yet, the sun just barely casting a glow over the horizon, so he was caught off guard as he entered the kitchenette.

Riven was hunched over from his position sitting on the counter, a cup of coffee in his slightly shaking hands. The squire, unsure of what to do and how awake his volatile squad mate was, quietly got a cup from the cabinet. As it thudded closed, Riven jumped, scrubbed at his eyes, and glared at Brandon. “Morning,” Brandon offered, pouring the dark liquid and gesturing to Riven’s cup with the pot to ask if he wanted a refill.

“Save the serving for your precious prince.” The mulberry-haired hero snarled, dropping his cup in the sink and shouldering his way out the door. It was only when Riven was passing Brandon did he realize there was a red tinge around the growling male’s eyes.

* * * * * *

The second time was later that same day after Riven made a pass at Bloom and had a vase dumped over his head. Sky noticed it the moment he turned to shout at the prickly specialist. He looked like a kicked puppy for a split second, eyes wide in shock and pain, though it was fortunately only wounded pride as Bloom hadn’t dropped the ceramic on his head for emphasis. Immediately Riven turned, trying to storm away as Bloom frantically tried to calm the situation, realizing it had gotten out of hand more quickly than intended.

Sky grabbed the volatile teen’s wrist, being pulled along momentarily as he stalked away until the prince got his footing. At that point, Sky shoved Riven against the building to their right, forearm pressing just enough against his neck to keep him in place. “What’s your deal Riven? Why are you pushing everyone’s buttons?”

The pinned specialist huffed, trying to push Sky away with little success. “Look, sorry if I pissed you guys off; just let me go!” It was obvious that he would say anything to get free, a franticness edging into his voice.

“Dude, you’ve been in a mood all day. What’s going on with you?” Sky dropped his voice to make certain the rest of the onlooking group couldn’t hear. “Is it about Musa? Or just today in general?”

“I said let me go Sky!” The edge had turned into panicked rage, the tone causing Sky to step back in surprise and release the mulberry-haired specialist who scrambled away, taking off before the prince could get anything out of him.

* * * * * *

The Battle for Alfea had already taken the lives of a half-dozen heroes, four fairies and a witch, and nearly everyone had been injured in some capacity. Riven was trembling as he leaned against a partially destroyed wall keeping watch. After getting to Alfea with Griffin and the witches, he hadn’t realized the extent of the damage or how hopelessly outnumbered they were until the next wave of the Army of Decay had hit. Watching a fourth-year hero get cut down not even three meters from him had unsettled Riven, even if he hadn’t known the teen personally.

Between Darcy’s psychological torture, running around Cloud Tower, and fighting the Army of Decay, Brandon wasn’t totally sure how the scimitar-wielder was still standing, well leaning, let alone managing to keep watch. While Riven himself hadn’t divulged the particulars of his captivity, the witches began murmuring about what they’d heard and seen in the dungeons each time he walked by. “Want to take a break? I can cover.” The broad-sword user nudged his teammate when he didn’t get a response, only to receive a non-committal _hmm_. “I’m serious man, you must be exhausted after Darcy-“

The full-body flinch at her name had Brandon jumping back, assuming that the mulberry-haired hero had been electrocuted by some sort of spell. When nothing else happened and Riven didn’t react further, the brunet approached again, hand still on the hilt of his sword. “What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Seriously man, what the hell just happened?”

“You know what Brandon-“ Riven cut himself off, taking a shaky breath. “Don’t trust me now? Think I want to keep watch so the Trix can ambush you?” He pushed himself off the wall, eyes on the ground. “I’m gonna get some food and sleep while I can.”

“Riven,” Brandon paused, waiting until the other teen stopped and faced him, something that he’d refused to do since returning with the witches. “What happened with the Trix, it doesn’t matter right now. You saved Griffin and the others, got them here, and we needed the reinforcements. We can deal with everything else later.”

Breaking eye contact, Riven nodded, heading for the dining hall which was being used as both a mess hall and an infirmary for those with minor injuries. “Yeah, later.” The teen murmured, barely audible, but as the brunet turned to watch him go, he saw Riven briefly covering his face, shoulders shaking, before he straightened and left.

* * * * * *

The end of year dance became a wake for the fallen, a mix of painful goodbyes and celebrating life that left most of the attendees with tears and locked jaws on more than one occasion that evening. After a tribute to the dead at the beginning, most of the students were trying to enjoy themselves, in particular by consuming large quantities of the punch which one of the third-year Alfea girls had cast a cheer-charm over. From what the specialists had gathered, her sister had been one of the first-years killed and between the refilling of her punch cup they saw her stealthily drinking from a flask. No one said anything and if the teachers saw they didn’t confiscate the contraband. She may have been eighteen but she was still on school grounds.

Taking a break from the dancing with Bloom, Sky winced as he saw Riven bump into her near the punch table just a couple meters away. “You!” The fairy hissed, crushing the plastic cup in her hand.

“Aria, come on. Leelo wouldn’t-“ One of her friends tried to defuse the situation as Riven looked on unsure. The mention of the deceased fairy just seemed to antagonized Aria further.

“We know all about you, the second-year _hero_ who paired up with the Trix. It’s your fault Leelo and Anh and Haru and Natsuki are dead. You should be the one we’re burying, not them!” Her voice got progressively louder until most of those in attendance could hear her, even with the music blasting. A few of the teachers stepped forward, as if to intervene, but they were across the quad, too far to do anything.

“Riven, let’s go.” Sky interceded when he saw the male stuttering over apologies, his hands flexing like he wanted to grab something. “She’s upset, and drunk. She doesn’t mean it.”

“Yeah she does. And she’s got every right to.”

* * * * * *

It was after they’d all arrived back to Red Fountain for their third-year, classes not yet started but the heroes had settled in, bags unpacked and clutter already appearing as they enjoyed catching up with friends without school hanging over their heads.

Timmy was the next one to catch Riven in what he would consider near-tears, despite what the broody male may claim. In the time since the Darcy-Days (aka D-Days), Riven had made many attempts to make it up to both the Winx and specialists in his own way, but he was still uneasy about his place in the group, and everyone was feeling the tension. They hadn’t had much time between the Battle for Alfea and leaving for summer break to mend things, and since getting back, the knowledge that they had a new squad mate they hadn’t met yet was feeding the strain. When Timmy came upon him cleaning the shared apartment, muttering “gotta be useful” to himself over and over, the tech-fanatic wanted to backpedal out of there and get the school healer. Instead, the ginger glanced around, shocked to find three neatly folded piles of clothing on the dining table, polished weapons set beside them. Even Timmy’s spare blaster had been cleaned and was resting on its felt cloth.

The mulberry-haired teen paused in his sweeping, making Timmy think that he’d been spotted from his position just inside the doorway. Rather than acknowledge the sharp-shooter, Riven grabbed the blanket bundled on the couch, an attempt at decorating by Stella, and snapped it before laying it across the back of the arm chair. “Gotta be useful, can’t be seen as a problem again…” A sharp, choked breath nearly had Timmy speaking up, feeling like an intruder in his own dorm, but a whining noise from the other hero had the techy slipping back out the door, a pit in his stomach.

When Brandon and Sky were surprised to find their laundry done and weapons polished, Timmy couldn’t bring himself to tell them what he’d found that afternoon. Instead he gave Riven his fruit salad at dinner, providing the excuse that he had a toothache that the crisp fruit was bothering. The small smile that Riven had as he chomped down on the dessert had Timmy passing the scimitar-wielder sweet treats for the rest of the week.

* * * * * *

“If you’re gonna act like this I’m gonna bounce. You’re wack if you think I’ll stick around for this!” Musa’s shouting was followed by the very final sound of their dorm door closing.

“I’m going to need to finish this level with you another time Tecna.” Timmy murmured, hearing a similar phone conversation between Sky and Bloom as he paused the game and removed his headset. The two specialists shared a look before slowly approaching the bedroom Timmy shared with Riven, half expecting the hot-tempered hero would burst out when they got close.

“Riven?” Sky tried the door handle, only to find it locked. “Riven, open the door.” The prince used his most authoritative tone, figuring at worse Riven would open the door just to make a snarky comment and they could be certain that Musa hadn’t turned him into a snake or something. The fairy could have nearly as bad a temper as Icy when pushed, not that anyone was brave, or stupid, enough to tell her. “Riven! I said open the door!”

The sound of frantic scrambling in the room had Timmy and Sky glancing wide-eyed at one another before the door swung in revealing the mulberry-haired teen with his jaw clenched so tightly it had to hurt. “What,” he growled, sounding more beast than hero in the moment.

Thinking quick, Timmy held up his phone. “We were going to get pizza. You in?”

The angry specialist could see how hard Timmy was trying and his face softened slightly as he let out a thick “yeah” and stepped out of the bedroom. His teammates didn’t ask about Musa, instead distracting Riven by going through the various places that delivered to the school and what types they were going to get before Timmy roped the scimitar-wielder into a racing game, even going easy on him (or so Timmy claimed loudly when teased by Sky and the recently returned Brandon). Helia was pulling one of his disappearing acts, which may have actually been better since Riven and emotions weren’t the best combo; Helia was a new addition and hadn’t earned the prickly teen’s trust. They barely had and they’d known Riven for nearly two years.

“He hasn’t played much! I went easy!”

“You’re just upset Riven kicked your butt.”

“And no one’s been able to do that since you got the game.” The teasing from the two Eraklyians continued, good naturedly, but shifting Riven’s lightened mood to melancholy as he realized Timmy may have lost on purpose because he was upset about Musa.

The tech-fiend was the only one to notice the change and the near-silent hiccupped breath that escaped before Riven stood and stormed to his room, not even coming out when the pizza arrived fifteen minutes later and the three heroes set his on a plate by the door. Timmy ended up sleeping on the couch rather than picking the lock and upsetting Riven further, and was woken in the early hours of the next day when the mulberry-haired specialist stumbled to the kitchen and made coffee, looking like hell.

When Riven realized that Timmy was awake, he brought the ginger a cup and settled beside him on the couch. Neither spoke until Sky and Brandon came out three hours late for their pre-crack of dawn run and that was when Riven broke. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” His words caught in his throat, coming out choked, and tears quickly followed. “I can’t think straight; I just keep thinking about the Trix and everything I did, of how stupid I was!”

“Riven, you fell for a girl. A crazy, power-hungry witch, but still a girl.” Sky tried, unsure how to deal with the crying teen. Riven didn’t exactly do emotions, at least not the non-angry type, with other people around.

“Everything I did helped the Trix get the Dragon Fire and they used it to kill people. I’m responsible for their deaths. I couldn’t even get away from it for the summer to try to deal with it. Saladin spoke with my dad when I disappeared, told him how I was running around with a witch. He was furious; he hates witches after my mom abandoned us, and then his useless son gets caught up with one and people _died._ And when I try with Musa, I get caught up with everything with–“ Riven took a shaky breath – “Darcy, and I snap at her. And you heard her, she’s sick of it – sick of me.”

“You’re seen the mess that we’ve made with Bloom and Stella, and they forgave us. Things will get better with Musa; you gotta give it time. Timmy still hasn’t asked out Tecna but she keeps coming around.” Brandon countered, the specialist ignoring Timmy’s “Hey!” as he crouched in front of Riven, hesitating a moment before he rested a hand on the upset teen’s shoulder. “And man, you’re not useless. You remember that thing about using our capes for aerial maneuvers? Or the fact you were at the top of our class both years, despite everything that happened last year?”

“You even beat me Riven. Do you know how hard I studied and trained? And you still beat me by four points Riven. Four points! That’s not even close!” Timmy was distraught at the reminder, grabbing Riven’s other shoulder as he frantically gestured with his mug, sloshing coffee but luckily not spilling any of the hot liquid across himself or his teammates.

It got a wet laugh from the teen and a ghost of a grin. “Guess I’ll have to help you prep this year then.”

“Definitely. I can’t keep losing to you! What will Tecna think if you beat me on another written exam? I have a reputation to keep!”

It was obvious that Riven was getting uncomfortable with the attention as he rubbed at the back of his neck and muttered a quiet “Thanks guys.” They shrugged it off, Brandon pulling Riven to his feet as he stood.

“You can pay us back by going running this morning with Sky and I. Timmy needs some sleep before classes and honestly, you blast your music so loud during morning workouts it probably wakes the whole floor.” Riven rubbed away the tear tracks, smiling more since he knew Brandon had a habit of playing his workout music even louder, and nodded, heading to get changed in his room.

“So we’re not leaving him alone from now on right?” Timmy whispered, keeping an eye on the mostly closed bedroom door. “At least not until he’s feeling better?”

“Course not.” The prince laced up his shoes and grabbed his water bottle. “We’re his team, and his friends. It’d make us pretty bad at both if we did.”


End file.
